My Genealogy Hound

W. P. Phillips (deceased), whose name occupies a substantial place in the memory of his many former acquaintances, was born in Tennessee, though reared in Alabama, having gone there when a child. He was a grandson of Col. John Phillips who fought in the War of 1812, and a son of John Phillips, a Kentuckian by birth. The subject of this sketch reached his manhood in Alabama, and there followed merchandising and farming, being very successful before the war. He was married to Miss Ann H. Stewart, also of Alabama nativity, and the daughter of William and Mary (Hogins) Stewart, originally from North Carolina. They were reared in Tennessee, where they were married, and later moved back to Alabama, where they were well-to-do farmers. The father died when Mrs. Phillips was but a little girl. She was the only daughter and remained with her parents till her marriage, which occurred in 1846. Mr. Phillips was a prominent and influential farmer and merchant, and during the war served in the commissary department till the close of the struggle, spending most of his time in Georgia. He lost very heavily in that conflict, but at its close resumed his farming and merchandising pursuits. In 1869 he moved with his family to Hale County, Ala., where he manufactured the Avery cotton-gin. He went to Memphis, Tenn., in 1873, having purchased large tracts of land in Crittenden County, Ark., in 1871, with the intention of opening a farm there, but he died before his plans were consummated. Mr. and Mrs. Phillips were the parents of four children, of whom three are yet living, namely: Mrs. Virginia Avery, Mrs. Alice Quinn and Mrs. Willie Cheatham. Minnie died of yellow fever in 1878. Mr. Phillips died December 31, 1874. He was an excellent man, a Master Mason, a firm believer in Christianity and the Bible, and was admired by all who knew him. Mrs. Phillips lived in Memphis, till 1884, when she moved to Crittenden County on the land that her husband had intended to open, and where she has a good farm of 160 acres. She is an estimable Christian lady, and enjoys the universal respect of her neighbors and acquaintances.